MILAN (Reuters – Italian airport and motorway caterer Autogrill stated that it is in talks with peers within the industry and was reviewing options following Bloomberg’s report on a possible tie-up between Autogrill and Dufry, a Swiss duty-free store.

Autogrill shares rose by more than 10% Tuesday after being automatically suspended from trading. The report stated that Dufry was looking into a potential combination with an Italian company.

Milan’s caterer, 50.1% of which is owned by the Benetton Family (NYSE:), announced last week that a bid for Atlantia infrastructure company was being made to purchase it.

Autogrill stated in a statement that the group was interested in looking at strategic alternatives. It is also having discussions with sector stakeholders to promote Autogrill’s development and add value to all parties.

Dufry did not immediately respond to the request.

Autogrill had been mentioned by the Benettons in January as one of the strategic investments that the family would make.

A tie-up between Autogrill, Dufry was discussed in June 2013. The idea of an alliance was rejected by both the Swiss and Italian catering company.

($1 = 0.9266 euros)